Hen&#39;s nest



Patented Nov. 11, 1952 UNITED STATS ENT OFFICE.

HENS NEST Freddie. R. Tjaden and Riedar Gestenstad, Jr., Fostoria, Iowa 3. Claims.

This invention relates to a hens nest as used in the commercial production of eggs in the poultry business, and more particularly to the type of nest in which the egg is secreted from the hen.

An object of the invention is to provide a nest which will cause a laid egg to roll to a position where it cannot be reached and eaten by a hen.

Another object is to provide a poultry nest which can easily be kept clean and which requires a minimum amount of effort on the part of an attendant to collect eggs therefrom.

A further important object of this invention is to provide means in the hens nest which will concurrently aid in the cleaning of the nest and break a hen of a brooding habit.

A still further object is the provision of a hens nest that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, strong and durable, compact and convenient in its arrangement of parts, and thoroughly efficient and reliable in use.

These, together with the various ancillary objects as will become apparent as the following description proceeds are attained by this hens nest, a, preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, parts being broken away to show the details of the elements of the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view as taken along line 2-2 in Figure 3; and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view as taken along line 33 in Figure l and showing the hens nest secured to a wall or the like.

Briefly and by way of introduction to the following detailed description it will be observed that the improved nest is characterized primarily by a housing embodying a hens nest comprising a housing embodying a vertical back panel, a spaced parallel front panel of a vertical height appreciably less than the greater height of said back panel, the corresponding lower edges of said back and front panels being in the same horizontal plane, a pair of vertical spaced parallel side panels joined with corresponding vertical edge portions of said back and. front panels, said side panels being apertured and having straight lower edge portions in a plane with the lower edge portions of said back and front panels and having upper edges inclining forwardly and downwardly from the upper edge of the back panel to and flush with the upper edge of said front panel, a single forwardly and downwardly slanting roof resting, as a unit, atop the upper edges of said back panel, front panel and side panels, said roof embodying a rearmost fixed section and a complemental foremost section, said sections being co-planar and said foremost section having an inward edge portion hinged to the cooperating forward edge portion of said rearmost section and providing an upwardly openable lid, a vertical partition commensurate in length with the length of said housing and secured to and depending from the underside of said foremost section, a foraminous false bottom elevated above the lower edges of said panels and fixedly mounted in said housing, said false bottom sloping toward said front panel, said partition having a lower edge spaced above said false bottom and defining an egg isolating receiver, and an imperforate main bottom underlying said false bottom and hingedly attached to the lower edge portion of said back panel, means separably fastening said main bottom to said front panel, and bird-walk means secured to the underside of said main bottom and having end portions projecting beyond the aforementioned apertured side panels.

With continued reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, the reference numeral !0 generally designates the hens nest comprising the present invention. The nest is secured to a wall or the like the desired height above the ground by a pair of brackets l2 secured to the inclined roof panel It. The vertical back panel I4 is provided in its upper portions with a pair of slots l5. These slots are adapted to admit air to the nest without permitting too much light to enter the nest since they are separated from the wall to which the nest is attached by only the width of the brackets i2.

A pair of side panels l8 and 20 are secured to the back panel [4 and are shaped as shown with the foremost portions of greatly reduced height than the rearmost portions. The side panels are provided with apertures 22 and 24 and curtains 26 and 28 are hung over these apertures. A slit as at 30 may be made in the curtain for easier entrance of a bird.

Secured to the side panels is a front panel 32 of much less height than the back panel. Positioned between the front, back, and side panels is a false bottom 34. The false bottom slopes downwardly frontwardly and is preferably made from wire mesh.

The sloping roof panel I3 is attached to the rear and side panels and is made in two sections, a foremost section 36 and a rear section 38. The section 38 is rigidly secured to the side panels l8 and 20 and rear panel 14 while the foremost lid section 38 is liftably hinged as at 40 to the rearmost section 38. As best shown in Figure 3, a vertical partition 44 is secured to the underside of the foremost section 36 and operates freely with the section 36. The partition extends downwardly from the roof section 36 at an angle approximately equal to the angle the rearmost section makes with the back panel. A sponge rubber guard 46 is attached to the inner surface of the front panel.

Curtains 48 and 50 may be suspended within the nest in alignment with the apertures in the panels to aid in making the nest dark.

Hinged to the back panel 14 is a bottom panel 52 having a bird crosswalk 54 secured at its undersurface which doubles in duty as a brace for the panel 52 and as a walk for a hen desirous of entering the nest. A pair of hooks 56 are attached to the foremost edge of the bottom panel 52 and adapted to selectively engage in eyes 58 attached to the front panel 82.

The hen enters the nest through the curtained apertures 22 or 24 and sits upon the wire mesh false bottom 34. The egg is laid upon this surface. As soon as the hen moves, gravity causes the egg to roll forward to the receptacle portion 60 of the nest. When the foremost section 36 of the roof is in its closed position the partition 44 prevents the hen from access to the egg and thus prevents the hen from eating the same. The

bumper guard 46 prevents the egg from cracking or otherwise breaking and since the hen cannot enter the compartment 60 the egg will remain clean and unsoiled by excrement.

If any of the hens are broody after the last collection of a day, the draft of cool air entering when the bottom panel 52 is lowered at evening, causes the hen to break its broody habit. The sooner a hen is broken of the brooding habit the quicker it returns to egg production. The lowering of the bottom panel 52 provides easy access for cleaning of the nest.

The panels of this invention are preferably constructed from tempered Masonite but other suitable materials may be readily used and it is not desired to limit the invention to any specific material used.

Since from the foregoing, the construction and advantages of this hens nest are readily apparent, further description is believed to be unnecessary.

However, since numerous modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, it is not desired to limit the invention to the precise embodiment shown and described, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A hens nest comprising spaced side panels, a back panel secured to said side panels, a front panel of substantially less height than said back panel, a single slanting roof secured to said back .4 and said side panels, said roof being made in coplanar flat sections with the foremost section being hinged to the rearmost section, said foremost section having a downwardly extending partition secured to it adjacent its rearmost edge, said partition extending downwardly at substantially the same angle that said back panel makes with said roof, a false bottom sloping forwardly secured to said rear and said side panels, and a bottom rotatably secured to said rear panel below said false bottom, and means secured to said front panel for selectively retaining engaging means secured to said bottom.

2. A hens nest comprising a housing embodying a vertical back panel, a spaced parallel front panel of a vertical height appreciably less than the greater height of said back panel, the corresponding lower edges of said back and front panels being in the same horizontal plane, a pair of vertical spaced parallel side panels joined with corresponding vertical edge portions of said back and front panels, said side panels being apertured and having straight lower edge portions in a plane with the lower edge portions of said back and front panels and having upper edges inclining forwardly and downwardly from the upper edge of the back panel to and flush with the upper edge of said front panel, a single forwardly and downwardly slanting roof resting, as a unit, atop the upper edges of said back panel, front panel and side panels, said roof embodying a rearmost fixed section and a complemental foremost section, said sections being co-planar and said foremost section having an inward edge portion hinged to the cooperating forward edge portion of said rearmost section, and providing an upwardly openable lid, a vertical partition commensurate in length with the length of said housing and secured to and depending from the underside of said foremost section, a foraminous false bottom elevated above the lower edges of said panels and fixedly mounted in said housing, said false bottom sloping toward said front panel, said partition having a lower edge spaced above said false bottom and defining an egg isolating receiver.

3. The structure defined in claim 2, and an imperforate main bottom underlying said false bottom and hingedly attached to the lower edge portion of said back panel, means separably fastening said main bottom to said front panel, and birdwalk means secured to the underside of said main bottom and having end portions projecting beyond the aforementioned apertured side panels.

FREDDIA R. TJADEN. RIEDAR OESTENSTAD, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,402,790 Olson Jan. 10, 1922 1,519,518 Thorp et al Dec. 16', 1924 1,817,588 Shaffer Aug. 4, 1931 2,279,147 Stimson Apr. 7, 1942 2,501,475 Muehlfeld Mar. 21, 1950 

